"… So, in conclusion. I learned one thing from deciding to become a farmer. I learned that, just when you are getting comfortable, life likes to throw you a curveball. More times than not, you will hate what it throws you. But sometimes, occasionally, the curveball you get ends up become this little thing called destiny." The boy smiled and looked at his class. They were… almost all asleep. Great. Nobody can say my speech was bad, cuz nobody stayed up long enough to hear it, the boy thought to himself. At least two people were still awake. There was Christopher Corso. The boy took off his blue and black stripped hat, laughing. Chris uses the hat to cup his mouth, saying "Nice speech! I didn't realize we still HAD naptime in high school." He shook his head at Chris's comment. That guy was a jerk to everyone, which only made his comment hurt a little less. At least Chris wasn't just picking on HIM. The teacher stood up from behind her desk and picked up a textbook. Slamming it down on one of the student's desk, the entire class jerked awake. As tired groans rumbled through the classroom, the teacher said, "We DON'T have naptime Mr. Corso." She then turned to him and said "Alright Seth. Thank you for the speech, you can sit down now." He shrugs and walks to his seat. Setting his notecards on his desk, he took his seat next to the only other person still awake. Lisa Pilkinton, one of his friends from all the way back in fourth grade. She straightened out her yellow shirt and looked over in his direction. "Hey," She said, tapping him on the shoulder, "Don't let what Chris says getcha down. He's just upset because he doesn't own any color besides blue in his wardrobe." A scoff comes from the back of the classroom, followed by a voice. "Yeah? Is that right, bumblebee? Well that's because blue is the best color out there." Seth smiles and cocks an eyebrow. Popping his jacket color up, he says "I dunno. I've always been sorta partial to red." Chris leans back in his seat and says "Hmpf. Maybe that's why I never liked you." Seth was about to protest when the shrill ringing of a bell sounded throughout the classroom. Chris was the first out of the door, placing his hat back on his head and rushing out like he had somewhere to be. Seth picked up his red and black backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He waits for Lisa and opens the closed door.
As the door swings open, a loud thud followed by and "AH!" is heard. Seth, confused for a second, looks behind the door. Sprawled out on the floor was a boy with papers spread everywhere. Seth's eyes open wide as he realized what had happened. He had just hit the boy with the door. The boy who had just been hit quickly sits up, scrambling to find the glasses that had fallen off his face. Upon finding them, he quickly cleaned the lenses on his green and white striped shirt. Placing them back on his face, the boy blinked up at Seth. "S-sorry. I-I didn't see you open the door." The boy said, standing up from his sitting position and brushing himself off. Seth knelt down and began gathering the papers. "No, no. It's my fault. I shouldn't have opened the door so rashly." The boy in the green shirt knelt down and started helping Seth pick up his papers. Seth shot a glance at the boy and said "No, no. I got it." The boy who had gotten hit stands back up, leaving the papers in a neat pile. Lisa taps the boy on the shoulder and says "Hey, don't take it too seriously kid. Seth here just likes to work alone. It's almost as if he's allergic to getting help from other people." Seth stands up and hands the boy his green backpack back. "Not true! Don't listen to anything she says… Umm… What is your name again," Seth asks, not knowing the boy? The boy grabbed his backpack and said "M-my name is Alex. Alex Martinez." Seth extended a hand and Alex shook it back. "Nice to meet you Alex. My name is Seth and this is a good friend of mine, Lisa." Alex smiled and said "It was nice to meet you both. And thanks for the help with my papers." Seth nods and then hears a beeping sound. Alex's eyes go wide and he looks at his watch. "Oh shoot! I'm late to my next class!" The boys eyes shot towards Seth as he says "Hey! I'm sorry! I have to get to my next class. I'll uh… See you around." The boy gave a wave, turned right around and dashed down the hallway. The boy ran so fast, Seth could have sworn that something was chasing Alex. Seth looked down and laughed. Lisa laughed too and then looked towards Seth. "So," she says, putting an arm on his shoulder, leaning against him, "You headed to Botany?" Seth nods and says "You know it. Only blow-off class for the semester. Then I'm headed home." Lisa nods and says "Sweet! I'll check ya after school. I'll swing by your place." Seth nods and waves goodbye to his friend. He made his way down the hallway towards the school's greenhouse.
There wasn't much to look forward to in Botany. For starters, it was a REALLY small class. There were only 7 kids in the class. Two preppy cheerleaders, two kids who do nothing but play on their handheld game systems, Noah Burno, Stephanie Ciapolla and himself. Noah was sort of a klutz, always good for a good laugh. Like the time he tried to impress one of the cheerleaders by giving them a rose, but forgot to remove the thorns first. The only other person he even cared to know was Stephanie. She had one of the best green thumbs Seth had ever seen. You could give her a pot filled with nothing but rocks and that girl could show you how to grow a rose in that same pot. As a matter of fact, once he came into the classroom, Stephanie was hard at work. She was on her knees, shoveling potting soil from a bag into a small pot, a tiny tulip growing out of the soil that was already in the pot. He took his red jacket off and hung it up, grabbing one of the black aprons the teacher had them wear. "Afternoon Steph," he said, grabbing some bags of potting soil and carrying them over to where the redhead was working. She looked up at him, brushing hair out of her eyes. A bright smile crossed her face, one she always wore. Stephanie was always smiling at SOMETHING. "Why thank you Seth! I didn't need any more soil, but I'm sure Mrs. Damacio appreciates it." Seth smiled and set down the soil. Looking around, his hands on his hips, Seth says "Hey. You seen Noah?" Stephanie shook her head and took off her pink gardening gloves. "No. I don't think I have. Last I heard, he was going to the bathroom."
Seth looked towards the door right in time to see the boy rush in. He slammed the door shut and stood on the other end. The boy fixed his glasses, points at Seth and says "Hey! You didn't see me!" With those words, he ran into the tool closet and closed the door. Seth looked quizzically down at Stephanie and she looked back. Suddenly, the door bursts open. Chris busted in, face red and the bottom half of his pants soaking wet. His eyes shot around the room and landed right on Seth and Stephanie. He stomped forward, adjusted his navy-blue shirt, and slowly said "Where. Did. He. Go?" Seth shrugs and Stephanie stands up. The rivalry was reborn once again. Throughout the school, there was one person that Chris could never completely pester. That person, was Stephanie Ciapolla. She smirked and said "You know Chris. Maybe if you asked nicely, then we would tell you." Chris's eyes twitched, shocked someone had defied him. Every time Stephanie challenges Chris, he gets this same look. Chris let out a yell and stomps repeatedly on a bag of potting soil. Seth and Stephanie recoil with each stomp. Finally, Chris stopped his tantrum and looked at Seth and Stephanie. "Look. I hear that EITHER of you knew where Noah went, you're both DEAD!" With that threat, Chris stormed out of the room. Seth let out a sigh and yelled out "Noah! You can come out now!" The boy that was in the tool closet slowly opened the door. His head poked out, looking left and right. After seeing that the coast was clear, he stepped out. Brushing himself off, he said "Whew… THAT was a close one!" Seth cocked an eyebrow and said "Alright. Don't get too complicated. Just tell me. What did you do THIS time?" Stephanie stood up. She took off her apron and hung it up. Grabbing her pink beanie off the coat hanger, she placed it on her head. She stood next to Seth as Noah said "Well. I might have, Sort of, maybe flooded the bathroom while Chris was in there." Seth and Stephanie began laughing. Seth, trying to catch his breath, said, "Oh Noah, you are too much sometimes." Noah shrugged just as the bell rang. Seth smiled. Patting Stephanie on the back and Noah on the shoulder, he says "Well! Time for me to go home! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Stephanie smiled and Noah waved, saying "See ya later dude." With that, Seth left the room, making his way down to his locker.
As he got to his locker, he turned the dial to the right combination. 07-03-03. He opened his locker and started pulling out books. Kneeling to start putting things in his backpack, he reached up to the top shelf of his locker. Then he froze, dead in his tracks. As he was reaching on the top shelf of his locker, he had felt something… strange. It felt round... two round cylinders that felt like a polished tile floor. He stood up to get a look at the strange item. He was right, it WAS two cylinders. They were stuck together like an un-opened scroll. He examined the object, running a finger over its smooth, red surface. He looked and on it, he saw the number 5 in a gold border. He blinked and his finger traced up it. As soon as his finger contacted the golden number, his head got an ear-splitting ringing. His brain temporarily blacked out and he saw a series of images rush through his head. He was at the mouth of a deep cave, red rocks covering the entrance. The images zoomed through the cave. He came to a fork in the road. A light shown towards the entrance where the red rocks continued. The images zoomed through the cave until it got to a wide room. Everything inside was a shiny white. The images slowed down as a figure came into view. It was a man in a white robe, a weird symbol on his forehead. The figure turned around and said, "It is time, Seth." As soon as those words were said, the images rapidly zoomed in reverse until he was woken up, back to consciousness. He awoke with a gasp, looking around. Nobody had seen him black out and he jumped up. Looking around, sweat trailing down his forehead, he felt something in his hand. As he looked down, he saw that the scroll-like object was still in his hand. He threw it back in his locker, recoiling in fear. Slamming his locker shut, he put his back to it. Taking deep breaths, he closed his eyes and tried to compose his thoughts. After a few seconds of reconciling, he took a deep breath. Standing up, he opened his locker. As he opened it, he stared down the object that was still sitting in his locker. He shook his head and grabbed the object. Throwing it in his backpack, he slammed his locker shut and started walking towards the parking lot. He didn't know what had just happened or what the object in his backpack was. All he knows is that it knew his name. And he wanted to know why.